Scared Sexy Collection

Amazon Originals from Ali Hazelwood, Christina Lauren, JT Geissinger, Ruby Dixon, Katee Robert and Kimberly Lemming

The Scared Sexy collection is another collection from Amazon of short, themed stories, available in both ebook and audiobook for free with Prime and Kindle Unlimited. Since these are novellas, I go in with lower expectations and judge them differently than full-length novels.

Hot For Slayer by Ali Hazelwood

Narrated by Nina Yndis and Maxim Reston

Ethel is a modern vampire living in New York City. Lazlo is a Vampire hunter who has been chasing her down for centuries. They’re mortal enemies, yet have been a part of their each other’s lives (him chasing, her getting away) for so long they treat it as almost a game now. But when Lazlo loses his memory, he knows there is no way he could be hunting her down—he wants her in a different way.

“I might not remember my name, or anything about who I am. But I could never be near you and not know exactly what you are to me.”

I had fun with Hot For Slayer! Ali did a great job weaving in the vampire worldbuilding in a way that felt natural and engaging. The names of the characters were hard to understand with the narration and old foreign names (Aethelthryth), but even still, you can’t help but love the main characters.

I do wish this had been full-length, but Hazelwood did a great job telling a complete story in such a short time.

The Narration: I enjoyed the women’s parts, but Maxim Reston didn’t really work for me in this role. He wasn’t sexy, but would have mede a great bad guy in a thriller.

Novella Rating: 4.25 Stars, 2 Heat, 3 Narration

Kindle | Audible

Falling by Christina Lauren

Narrated by Marli Watson and Nicholas Boulton

If you loved Twilight, you *might* enjoy Falling by Christina Lauren, they even referenced it in this short story. Brigan is cursed to be a “beast” who feeds on pleasure. When Cat meets the mysterious stranger at a party she attends with her crappy boyfriend (who promptly abandoned her), Brigan realizes she is the only human that isn’t able to be enthralled at his command.

“Brigan couldn’t remember a lover who hadn’t mindlessly devoured whatever he gave them and then greedily demanded more. He reeled in understanding when it hit him, for it had been so long: This was what real desire looked like.”

This one was meh for me. The ending was abrupt and it just felt like Falling was too short to tell the story.

The Narration: Marli was good as the FMC, but Nicholas sounded too old and wasn’t sexy sounding at all.

Novella Rating: 2.5 Stars, 1.5 Heat, 3 narration

Kindle | Audible

Spicy Little Curses by JT Geissinger

Narrated by Vanessa Moyen and Troy Duran

Petra is a reporter sent to cover infamous ghost stories in New Orleans’ French Quarter. She doesn’t believe in that stuff—until she meets Dax, the tattoo artist who owns House of Ink and Blood. His tattoos? They come to life.

There’s plenty of banter (some of it a little forced), but the story itself is creative and fun.

“You’re not going down there. It could be dangerous.”
She smiled sweetly at me. “Sure, because staying up here alone in the middle of a cemetery around midnight with a supernatural curse collector on my tail is so safe.”

It felt more like a prequel to a series than a standalone story, but still enjoyable.

The Narration: The best so far—really strong performances from both narrators.

Novella Rating: 3 Stars, 0 Heat, 4 Narration

Kindle | Audible

Space Vampire by Ruby Dixon

Narrated by Beth Roeg and Ryan West

This one surprised me—I really enjoyed it! Dana is a human pet for an alien on a space station. When she sneaks away to be alone, she emerges to find everyone gone. The aliens left her stranded with a monster they’d been experimenting on—a vampire clone she names Vlad.

Together, they plot their escape before the aliens return.

I didn’t expect to like this one so much! It’s been years since I read Ruby Dixon, but I am thinking I may want to revisit soon!

“I’ve been home since the moment I met you.”

The Narration: was solid all around, no complaints.

Novella Rating: 4 Stars, 3 heat, 4.5 Narration

Kindle | Audible

Beautiful Nightmare by Katee Robert

Narrated by Andi Eloise

Beautiful Nightmare by Katee Robert one was fun and unique!

Gemma is a sleep paralysis demon whose job is to freeze her victims, scare them senseless, and feed on their fear (which she actually hates). On her first solo assignment, she meets Caleb, who wakes up mid-scare to the pretty pink demon on him—and let’s just say fear isn’t what he’s feeling.

“Because nowhere in the sleep paralysis demon manual was there a section containing “What to Do If Your Human Gets a Boner.”

Gemma soon realizes she likes the taste of lust more than fear, and her growing connection with Caleb is surprisingly sweet. Caleb isn’t the typical alpha male—he’s gentle, respectful, and all about consent. It honestly reminded me of Monsters Inc. for adults, and I loved that.

The Narration: This was the only single POV books and I loved the narration.

Novella Rating: 4 Stars. 1.5 Heat, 4 Narration

Kindle | Audible

My Boyfriends are All Monsters by Kimberly Lemming

Narrated by Aure Nash and Sean Crisden

After her boyfriend leaves her on a mountain while hiking, Lucy hurts her ankle and stumbles upon a wishing well. She wishes to not be alone anymore and have a small-town romance in real life. And she gets one—sort of.

She’s rescued by a gorgeous man who looks like a cover model, and brought to a town that looks perfect at first glance, full of impossibly attractive people… until things take a bizarre turn. Soon, she’s in an orgy with a group of monsters.

“There’s three of you, aren’t there? Why choose?”
“I’ll try to be gentle.”
“Literally nobody told you to do that.”

This one was weird and a little confusing, but Lucy, a witty Black heroine, and her group of hilarious friends were the highlight for me. They were funny, lively, and relatable. The narration during their text chat scenes and phone calls was my favorite part.

The Narration: Sean Crisden was perfectly creepy, and Aure Nash nailed the humor. The narration was easily the best part of this story.

Novella Rating: 2.5 Stars 3.5 Heat, 4.5 Narration

Kindle | Audible

The Down & Dirty:

The Scared Sexy collection was a fun mix of paranormal romance novellas that hit differently depending on the author. Some felt like teasers for bigger stories, but a few were surprisingly complete and satisfying. My favorites were Hot For Slayer by Ali Hazelwood and Space Vampire by Ruby Dixon—they both delivered creative worlds, great pacing, and just enough heat to keep things interesting. Even the ones that didn’t totally land were quick listens, and the variety made it easy to keep going.

If you’re in the mood for short, steamy, paranormal stories that don’t take themselves too seriously, the Scared Sexy collection is a fun pick—especially since it’s free with Kindle Unlimited and Prime.